Fowlp stands for Fan out wafer level packaging, which is a type of chip packaging technology in the semiconductor industry. While traditional packaging technologies such as system in package (SiP) and chip on board (COB) essentially place a single packaged chip onto a printed circuit board (PCB), FOWLP technology uses a wafer as the substrate for the packaging.
The concept of FOWLP originated from wafer level packaging (WLP), which was first introduced in the early 2000s. WLP soon became an attractive packaging option because of its small form factor, low cost, and compatibility with high volume manufacturing. However, the original WLP technology had some limitations such as I/O density and limited number of chips per wafer, which restricted its application range. In contrast, FOWLP technology overcomes most of these limitations by allowing chips to be directly connected in a redistributed layout at the wafer level using thin film redistribution layers.
In FOWLP, chips are first thinned and then placed on a reconstituted wafer, which contains a layer of polyimide or other insulating material to provide mechanical and electrical separation between chips. Redistribution layers (RDLs) are then added to connect the I/O of the chips to the outside world through metal vias that extend through the insulating layers. The RDLs, which are typically made of copper, are patterned using lithography to achieve the desired interconnect design.
The final step in FOWLP is to singulate the wafer into individual fan out packages. The singulation process involves dicing the wafer to create individual packages using a process known as sawing, laser cutting or stealth dicing. The resulting packages are then encapsulated and tested for functionality before being shipped to customers.
FOWLP technology has a number of advantages over traditional packaging technologies. First, FOWLP allows for higher I/O counts and smaller form factors than other package types. It also offers improved thermal and electrical performance, lower cost and shorter time to market as the technology eliminates the need for a separate printed circuit board (PCB) for the chip package. Finally, it supports heterogeneous integration, which allows chips of different sizes and functionality to be combined in one package, thus opening up new possibilities for system level integration.
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